Like a rocket in Houston
Two months after the Sebring 12 Hours, the American Le Mans Series touched down
in Houston this weekend.
Extremely confident as he looked forward to the
race held around the very bumpy and tortuous street circuit, Romain Dumas
thought that a podium finish was a realistic prospect for the second round of
the season. In free practice, he had to review his expectations – upwards!
In effect, on Thursday afternoon, the driver from the Gard region of France had
the temerity to not only be quicker than all the other LMP2 cars, including the
second Porsche, but was also ahead of the LMP1 runners, including notably the
Audi driven by McNish and Capello. This fastest lap truly gave the Penske
Team driver a huge boost. In qualifying in the evening, he again set fastest
time in LMP2 and second ove- rall, and earning Porsche a front row starting
spot. Romain's satisfaction was all the greater as 7/10ths and 9/10ths
slower respectively, the second Porsche and the Audi had been clearly shown who
was faster during qualifying.
The dream ride continued during the race.
Cautious at the start, Romain let James Weaver lead the first few laps but then
quickly grew impatient …
On the 13th lap, he overtook the British driver
after a very aggressive braking manoeuvre. The following laps would provide a
fabulous demonstration of Romain's skill and the exceptional agility of the
Porsche Spyder RS.
For an hour and up to the end of his stint, Romain was
literally running rings around the opposition, setting new lap records for the
circuit. But having handed over the car to his team-mate, after 20 laps or
so, a change of battery put a serious dent in Romain's enthusiasm. Then the
final blow came when the Porsche's transmission failed…
"What we experienced
today was exceptional. I knew we would be competitive, but to give the Lola and
the Audi such a hard time was truly something! I was really driving easily
within myself and matched anything our opponents could do. In all sincerity,
although I am of course disappointed that we failed to finish, I will remember
above anything else from this weekend the great symbiosis I had with the car.
I think this performance will push every member of the team to work harder
to make the car more reliable than it is presently. According to the ALMS
officials, no Porsche had ever led an American le Mans Series race before I
overtook Weaver. I am very proud to have changed this statistic and I hope we
will very shortly be able to celebrate that on a podium.
Why not next
weekend at Mid-Ohio ?"...
Romain DUMAS